is a Yugoslav-American professional tennis player (born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia) who has played for both countries. Monica is a former world number one.

Game Features: left-handed, right-handed playing with two hands

Start professional career: 1989

End of career: 2008

In 1986, the tennis player moved from Yugoslavia to the United States, and in 1994 received the citizenship of this country. In 2007, she also received Hungarian citizenship, as her parents are ethnic Hungarians. She has 9 personal victories in Grand Slam tournaments, 4 of which are Australian Open. In 1990 she became the youngest winner Roland Garros. In 1991-1992 the first racket of the world.

The tennis player's father, Karoy Seles, was an animator, and her mother, Esther Seles, was a programmer. At the age of 6, the athlete, under the guidance of her father, began to take tennis lessons. The original place for training was a car park behind the house, where a regular rope was used as a net, stretched between two cars. The family could not afford a professional trainer, and as study guide the magazine "World Tennis" The father painted a mouse character from the cartoon "Tom and Jerry" on the balls, and invited his daughter to imagine herself as a cat catching an annoying character.

Later, Nick Bollettieri drew attention to the girl and offered to train her at his academy. So, the whole family moved to Florida.

Stabbed in the back

On April 30, 1993, a tragic event occurred, due to which Seles was forced to temporarily leave the big sport. In Hamburg, on the court of the Rottenbaum Tennis Club, the quarterfinals of the Citizen Cup tournament were held, in which Monica led the score against the Bulgarian tennis player Magdalena Maleeva 6:4, 4:3. Usually calm German fans this time behaved very defiantly - they shouted, whistled and hooted, dissatisfied with the fact that Seles was ahead of the once dominant Steffi Graf in the ranking. During the break between games, one of the fans of the German tennis player, a certain Gunther Parke, ran up to Monica and stuck a carving knife in her back by one and a half centimeters. The attacker was seized by bodyguards and the tennis player's brother, the girl was immediately hospitalized. And although the wound turned out to be not dangerous, Monica suffered severe psychological trauma, as a result of which she stopped competing in tournaments and began to shun people. She locked herself in her Florida home, which was equipped with high walls, alarms and security cameras. As her attending physician Jerry May stated at the trial, “... she is very afraid, crying and feeling very nervous. He sleeps poorly and sees nightmares in his sleep. She fears that Parke will attack her again."

Subsequently, at the trial, the arrested person stated that he wanted to help Steffi Graf regain the title of the first racket of the world. He was not sentenced to a prison term - the court found him mentally deranged, sentenced him to 2 years probation and ordered him to compulsory treatment. The Seles family remained dissatisfied with the verdict, but did not file an appeal.

Monica Seles- one of the most famous tennis players, previously playing for the United States and Yugoslavia. Born in 1973 in a small Yugoslav town on the banks of the Danube - Novi Sad. Monica began to learn the basics of tennis at the age of 5 years. Her father was her first coach. It was thanks to him that the girl mastered the technique of the famous two-handed strike.

At the age of 11, under the guidance of professional coach Jelena Gencic, Monica Seles won her first prestigious victory in a junior tournament - the Orange Bowl. There she was noticed by another famous coach - Nick Bolletier. Thanks to him, the Seles family moved to the United States and from this period the girl's career went uphill. In 1989, the girl received her first title, beating an experienced American tennis player, Chris Evert. At the age of 15, Seles Monica for the first time, participating in the Grand Slam tournament, was able to reach the semifinals, but lost to tennis player Steffi Graf.

Every year the young tennis player climbed higher and higher up the career ladder. In 1990, Monica Seles became the youngest champion of the tournament at Open Championship France. In 1991, she participated in the Australian Open tennis championship, was able to get around all her rivals and take the first line in the ranking. Further, despite the leg injury, followed by a triumph at the US Open tennis championship. There was the last Grand Slam tournament - Wimbledon tournament. But, despite all the efforts made, Monica did not manage to get around Steffi Graf.

In April 1993, the whole world learned about the Yugoslav-American tennis player Monica Seles. In Hamburg, at one of the tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association, Monica reached the quarterfinals with the Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva, displacing Steffi Graf. The outcome was already almost decided, Seles was on her way to victory. But after the seventh game, an unknown man entered the court and stabbed Monica one in the back. Thanks to the intervention of the guards, a second blow was avoided. In a hurry tennis player on wheelchair taken away from the court and sent to the hospital. Later it turned out that an unknown man wanted to assist Steffi Graf in winning the title of the first racket again.

The wound was not very serious, but psychologically Monica did not recover for a long time. She closed herself in her house for several months under close surveillance by cameras and guards. The doctors and the meeting with the legendary Mohammed Ali, who at that time himself was going through difficult times.

After more than two years, Monica Seles was able to return to the court. She was able to win another championship at the Australian Open and bronze at Olympic Games in 2000. These were the last successful performances in her career. After the death of her father, tennis player Monica Seles did not show stable results.

As a result, since 2008, Monica Seles has officially ended her tennis career.

Big sport is a spectacular and exciting activity that attracts millions of people around the world. Especially when it comes to tennis. If we take a biography and a sports career, then few can boast of richness and drama. But Monica Seles is a different case, her life is full of ups and downs.

Childhood and first tennis lessons

On December 2, 1973, in the city of Novi Sad, a daughter is born in the family of cartoonist Karoy Seles and programmer Esther Seles. The girl became the second child in the family after her brother Zoltan. The father took the upbringing of Monica very seriously and introduced the girl to tennis from the age of 5. The family did not have money for a professional trainer, and Karoy himself begins to train the girl in the parking lot next to the house. The parking lot replaced the court, and instead of the net, a rope was stretched. Various tennis magazines acted as a textbook. Then, in childhood, the style of playing with two hands was laid. Monica was a very fragile girl, and she did not have the strength to hold the racket with one hand, so she used two. This feature has remained with her throughout her career.

Children's career

First children's tournament for Monica, when she was 9 years old, the championship of Yugoslavia among children under 12 years old, Seles then became the champion. The next big win came at the European Junior Championships the following year. In 1984, tennis player Monika Seles received the title of Yugoslav Sportswoman of the Year. In 1985, Seles went to the Orange Bowl tournament in Florida. There, with successful performances, he attracted the attention of the famous coach Nick Bollettiere. Monica's parents received an offer to move to Florida in order to develop a little tennis player. The Seles family did not succeed in moving immediately due to financial problems, but later, in 1986, the move took place anyway.

Big sport

At the age of 14, Monica's first victory in a professional tournament took place. And next year, tennis player Monica Seles is approved in the rank of professionals. The first tennis celebrity to be defeated in the final was Chris Evert at a tournament held in 1989 in Houston. But she took revenge in the same year at The United States Open Tennis Championships. In the tennis world, rumors spread about the appearance of new star and a possible rival for the undefeated Steffi Graf. Next up this year was Les Internationaux Roland Garros in France. Here the athlete was able to reach the semi-finals and met with Steffi Graf for the first time. The more eminent athlete did not let herself be beaten. And Monica failed. The result of the season was the sixth place in the world rankings

1990 was a much busier year for trophies. First, a victory was won at the Italian Internazionali BNL d’Italia tournament over Martina Navratilova. Then the undefeated Steffi Graf was defeated at the Lufthansa Cup. And the most significant event of that year was the victory at the Grand Slam tournament. In the final, Steffi Graf was beaten. The last victory became a new age record of the Grand Slam tournament, before that the title of the youngest winner belonged to Spaniard Arancha Sanchez-Vicario.

In the period from 1991 to 1992, Monica Seles won 6 Grand Slam tournaments. Steffi Graf kept only Wimbledon. It is worth noting that in 1991 Monica did not compete in this tournament, and in 1992 she reached the final.

1993 tragedy

1993 began successfully for Monica. At the Australian Open Tennis Championships, Steffi Graf was beaten in the final. In the spring in Hamburg, at the Citzen Cup tournament, a pair match was held: Magdalena Maleeva and Monika Seles. A stab in the back kept Monica from winning that game. From the beginning of the first set, the German fans were very aggressive towards Monica. The reason for this was the fact that Seles surpassed their compatriot Graf. And a certain Gunther Parche decided to correct the situation in this way. After the attack, the tennis player was immediately hospitalized. Fortunately, the damage did not cause much harm to the health of the athlete. But this event left a heavy emotional imprint on Monica, and after this tournament she ceases to perform. Emotional stress brought the athlete to the point that she equipped her house with security cameras and a high fence. And all her time she spent in this house, fearing a new attack.

Career resumption

It took Seles 28 months to recover. And in 1995 she returns to tennis. It helped her a lot. good people, including: parents and older brother, and once visited Monica himself

Upon returning to the sport of Seles, the world tennis association decided to share the title between the Count and Monica. The Association took into account the fact that before the tragedy, Monica led the rating, and a further decrease in positions was not her fault.

The first tournament after the return was the Canadian Rogers Cup, where Amanda Kötzer from South Africa was beaten in the final. Fans and experts predicted Monica's ascent to the previous level, but fate decreed otherwise. The American tournament The United States Open Tennis Championships ended with the defeat of Monica Seles from Steffi Graf. The last victory in the Grand Slam tournament was over Anke Huber.

In 1998, after the death of her father, Monica's career is in decline. However, in 2000, the tennis player won bronze at the Sydney Olympics. Since 2003, Seles ceased to play at big tournaments, and in 2008 he announced his retirement.

Personal life

In April 2009, the book "Getting A Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self" was published, which tells the story of the tennis player's severe depression and her return to the sport. The author of the memoir is Monica Seles herself. The personal life of the Hungarian tennis player took a sharp turn in 2009, after meeting with billionaire Tomi Golisano. In 2014, the couple announced their engagement.

On July 11, 2009, a new name appeared in the list of the International Tennis Hall of Fame - Monica Seles. Photos of this legendary athlete can still be seen on the pages of tennis publications and sports newspapers. And no one will argue, she deserved it.

Monica Seles(Serb. Monica Seles, Monika Sele, Hung. Szeles Mnika, English Monica Seles; born December 2, 1973, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia) - the famous Yugoslav-American professional tennis player who played for both of these countries; former world number one. In 1986, she moved from Yugoslavia to the United States, and in 1994 she received the citizenship of this country. In 2007, Seles also received Hungarian citizenship, as her parents are ethnic Hungarians. She has 9 personal victories in Grand Slam tournaments, 4 of which relate to the Australian Open. In 1990, she became the youngest winner of the French Open. In 1991-1992 he was the first racket of the world.

In October 2007, the United Nations Intergovernmental Institutional Spirulina Program (IIMSAM), which advocates for the fight against malnutrition, appointed Monica Seles as its Goodwill Ambassador and Spokesperson for this organization.

Biography

Path to the heights

Monica Seles was born in the Yugoslav city of Novi Sad (now Serbia) on December 2, 1973, in a Hungarian family. Father - Karoy Seles (Hungarian Szeles Kroly), animator, mother - Esther Seles (Hungarian Szeles Eszter), programmer. At the age of 6, at the insistence and under the guidance of her father, she began to take tennis lessons. The original place for training was a car park behind the house, where a regular rope was used as a net, stretched between two cars. The family could not afford a professional coach, and the World Tennis magazine acted as a teaching aid. The father painted a mouse character from the cartoon "Tom and Jerry" on the balls, and invited his daughter to imagine herself as a cat catching an annoying character.

Monica quickly learned to play well, and already at the age of 9 she managed to take the championship in the Yugoslav youth tennis championship among girls under 12 years old. At the age of 10, she won the similar European Youth Championship, and at 12 she received the title of Yugoslav Sportswoman of the Year. At the age of 13, Monica went with her family to Florida, USA, where she took part in a local youth tournament. At the end of the competition, the family planned to return home, but here the famous coach Nick Bollettieri drew attention to her, who brought up such tennis players as Andre Agassi, James Courier, Marie Pierce and other first-rate stars. Nick later described his first meeting with Monica as follows:

He offered Monica a place at his Academy (Eng. Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy), but the condition was to move permanently to the United States. As a result, the parents decided to leave their former place of work and move to Florida with their daughter.

Professional career

In the fall of 1988, when Monica was 14, she achieved her first victory in a professional tournament, and in 1989 she completely switched to big sport. During this period, the courts were dominated by an outstanding German tennis player Steffi Graf, and the arrival of Seles has changed the balance of power in world tennis in many ways. In May 1989, she managed to defeat Chris Evert in the final of the tournament in Houston, and although the latter took revenge in the same year at the US Open, the start of her career was laid. In the same year, she managed to reach the semi-finals in France, but lost to the more experienced Steffi Graf. According to the results of the year, Monica took the sixth line in the world ranking. The same year, however, was marked by parting with Bollettieri: despite the obvious successes of Seles, her coach spent almost all the time with his other pupil, Andre Agassi, and as a result, annoyed by Kara Seles, he began to make public statements that only he himself was Monica's only real trainer. Bollettieri just as publicly denied allegations of insufficient attention paid to Seles. As a result, the sports agency IMG intervened, which had significant influence in professional tennis, and in an interview organized by him, Monica Seles acknowledged the merits of Bollettieri in conciliatory terms, but emphasized that she now prefers to work with her father, who knows her better than anyone else.

Monica Seles. Knife in the back

December 2 marks the 38th birthday of the famous Monica Seles. Her career can be easily divided into two parts - before and after. The knife in the hands of the psychopath Günter Parhe became the border.

April 30, 1993 about Monica Seles almost everyone knew. Even those who have never been interested in tennis or sports in general. In those sunny days, the WTA tournament was held in Hamburg, and Seles, who was in the first position in the ranking, was, of course, the main favorite of the competition. In the quarter-finals, Monica went to a duty victory over Magdalena Maleeva- 6:4, 4:3. Witnesses of that match recall that the audience was mostly rooting for the Bulgarian, and the Yugoslav was booed. Seles removed local favorite from the top step of the pedestal Steffi Graf, so the dislike of the Germans for Monica was quite understandable. And during the change of sides after the seventh game, the inexplicable happened: unexpectedly for everyone, an unknown man ran up to the tennis player from behind, who stuck a carving knife in her back. Luckily, the guards caught on quickly and managed to twist his arms behind his back before he landed a second blow. As it turned out, the potential killer was a German turner Günter Parche.

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Monica Seles

She was born on December 2, 1973 in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.
She started playing tennis at the age of five.
Height: 178 cm. Left-handed. Two-handed strike left and right.
Beginning of professional career: 1989 Completion: 2003.
Career Prizes: $ 14 891 762.
The highest position in the ranking- 1 (March 11, 1991)
IN singles 595 wins and 122 losses.
Number of titles: 53.
Grand Slam tournaments (9 titles):
Australian Open - victory (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996) - 4 times.
Roland Garros - victory (1990, 1991, 1992) - 3.
Wimbledon Final (1992)
US Open - victory (1991, 1992) - 2.
Bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics.

IN doubles 89 wins and 45 losses.
Number of titles: 6.
Grand Slam Tournaments:
Australian Open - semi-finals (1991, 2001).
"Roland Garros" - third round (1990).
Wimbledon - quarter-finals (1999).
US Open - quarterfinals (1999).

19-year-old Monica was immediately placed in a wheelchair and taken off the court to the hospital. The arrested man said that he wanted to help Graf again become the first racket of the world, dispelling suspicions of a political motive for the crime - there was a version that the attack was connected with the Serbian roots of the tennis player. Recall that at that time there was a civil war in Yugoslavia. The court found Parhe mentally ill and ordered him to compulsory treatment. Alas, he realized his goal - thanks to his backstab, Graf returned to first place in the ranking, and Seles, by and large, was never her rival again. Physically, Monica's injury was not too serious, but psychologically she managed to recover from the shock only many months later. The Yugoslav closed herself in her Colorado home, which was equipped with video cameras, alarms and high walls. The attending physician of the tennis player recalls that even there his patient did not feel safe - there was no question of going out somewhere or returning to training. " She was incredibly afraid. Monica was crying all the time and was nervous. It seemed to her that Parhe would again lie in wait for her somewhere. She didn't sleep well and suffered from nightmares.", - says the doctor Jerry May.

But just a few months before, Seles was the first racket of the world, who was destined for a great career. Monika was born in Novi Sad to an ethnic Hungarian family. At the age of five, under the guidance of her father Karol, she began to play tennis. It was he who developed for his daughter the technique of two-handed strikes both on the left and on the right. When her father's skills were not enough, Monica began working with a professional trainer - Elena Gencic who was then working with Goran Ivanisevic, and later became even more famous as a mentor Novak Djokovic. At the age of 11, Monica won the most prestigious junior tournament, the Orange Bowl. This competition was held in Florida - right in front of the famous coach Nika Bollettieri who was just looking for new stars. A few months later, the whole family moved from Yugoslavia to the south of the United States. Two years at Uncle Nick's academy were very productive. Bollettieri improved what was already given to the tennis player by nature - Monica became even stronger and denser to hit the ball. A test of the pen in WTA tournaments took place in 88, and already in 89 Seles played a full season. In May, she won her first title, beating in the final in Houston not just anyone, but Chris Evert. A month later, the 15-year-old tennis player reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam for the first time, but lost on the courts of Roland Garros Steffi Graf.

The progress was incredibly fast: Seles immediately finished the year in sixth place and gained experience playing against Graf, Evert, Martina Navratilova, Aranci Sanchez Vicario and others. But the real explosion happened in season-90. Monica took revenge for a year-old setback against Graf at the French Open. Only now they met in the final. Having played four set points, the Yugoslavian won in two sets and became the youngest champion of this tournament. The victory in the Final Championship helped to finish the year on the second line. Further more. In January '91, Monica was the strongest on the courts of the Australian Open and pushed Graf to second place in the rankings. She also managed to defend the title in Paris, which made us think about repeating the record of Steffi, who in the 1988 season won a full-fledged Grand Slam. However, a leg injury prevented her from playing at Wimbledon. Monica missed a month and a half, but did not lose her shape at all - she won the two remaining major tournaments (US Open and Final), strengthening her position as the leader of the WTA tour.

Seles had an almost perfect year, but it turned out to be even better. She defended all three titles at the Slams, and reached the final at Wimbledon, but lost to Graf. At that moment, not without the help of a German woman and Martina Navratilova obstruction of Seles began in society due to the loud sounds that she made on exhalation after the blows. Yugoslav fans called it simple envy, and there was something to envy - in 25 months, their favorite won 22 titles, reaching the finals in 33 of the 34 tournaments played. Season '93 began as usual excellent - with the title in Melbourne. After a couple of months, Monica's career and life changed. Forever.

Psychologists, doctors, father and meeting with a boxer Muhammad Ali took action. 28 months after the tragedy, Seles returned to the court. From the first matches and tournaments, it seemed that the old Monica had returned - she immediately won the first category tournament in Canada and reached the final of the US Open, where she lost to Graf in the fight. Many believed that in the offseason, an American (Monica received US citizenship in 1995) would improve her physics and again delight fans of powerful and power tennis. Hopes were justified. Seles won her fourth Australian Open title, but this was the last major trophy. Monica was no longer able to do what she did perfectly in the early 90s - to approach the most important starts at the peak of her form. She alternated good results with failures and could no longer regularly show tennis. high level. Instability, among other things, was associated with a protracted illness, and then the death of her father from cancer. Despite the lack of success at the Slams, Seles played well in other competitions - she has bronze at the Sydney Olympics and three wins in the Federation Cup.

Monica spent her last full season in 2002. It was in that year that she showed her most stable results in 10 years. At all Grand Slam tournaments, she played at least in the quarterfinals, and in Australia she managed to go even further. The next season, the tennis player again began to worry about a leg injury. After losing to Nadezhda Petrova in the first round of Roland Garros (the only failure in starting match at the Grand Slam) Seles decided to end her career. She intended to resume it in 2005 after two exhibition games with Martina Navratilova, and in 2007, when she was inspired by returning to tour Lindsay Davenport. However, in the end, Monica did not dare to re-enter the court in the WTA tour match.

In 2009, a rather candid autobiography was published, in which the tennis player recalled a terrible time for herself after being hit in the back, talked about her addiction to food, returning to the tour and life after tennis. Now Monica, though not so often, appears on television screens. In particular, she took part in the American version of the show Dancing with the Stars. And two years ago, she rightfully took her rightful place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Quotes.
“Personally, I divide my career into two parts. The first was before that unfortunate incident happened. The second is after.

“I felt terrible because I could not control such a simple thing as food. On the court, everyone saw that I can restrain emotions, control myself. But when it came to food, I couldn't stop."

“If Serena is healthy, then she will break all records. I understand that she is still quite far from 24 tournaments, but I think she has every chance, as she has the potential to become the greatest tennis player of all time. (March 2010).